Wednesday, October 27, 2010

That seems to be the prevailing philosophy of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. After all, he once called the notion of extending term limits "disgusting." However, when polls told him he wasn't gonna be President in 2008, it suddenly became a little less disgusting. This mayor is an independent, of course, and renounced the Republican party to become one. This notwithstanding, when his failure to become President necessitated manipulating a third term, he had yet another change of heart and ran as a Republican.

Now, of course, the Mayor wants to vote for term limits. This is significant because it affirms his clear belief he, and he alone, should be able to change rules--which only apply to him if and when they serve his purposes. After all, NYC voters twice affirmed term limits. Only someone with as much money as he has ought to be able to weasel around that:

George Orwell put it well in his sardonic book, “Animal Farm.” He wrote:

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

And now Mayor Michael Bloomberg has shown us that Orwell wasn’t far off the mark. In 2009, Bloomberg, through his superiority in power and money, strong-armed the City Council to pass a law overturning the ban on more than two terms as mayor. Now, the Mayor has reversed himself. He will vote for a two-term limit for everyone else — even as he continues in his third term.

He has affirmed that, in the political jungle of New York, he is the one animal more equal than others.

Quite true, and the mayor doesn't even bother hiding it. Three for me, and two for everyone else. Of course, in three years that could change. The third term, this time, was an emergency. Bloomberg said only his economic expertise could help us sail through these rocky waters. Of course, that wasn't the real emergency.

To Michael Bloomberg, an emergency entails Michael Bloomberg not getting what Michael Bloomberg wants. Don't rule out another emergency in 2013. And be wary if the UFT says 2013 will be better. Bloomberg could buy another term for himself, or hand-pick someone even worse.

Or maybe a teacher-friendly Democrat will get in. I've been waiting for that to happen since 1984.

That seems to be the prevailing philosophy of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. After all, he once called the notion of extending term limits "disgusting." However, when polls told him he wasn't gonna be President in 2008, it suddenly became a little less disgusting. This mayor is an independent, of course, and renounced the Republican party to become one. This notwithstanding, when his failure to become President necessitated manipulating a third term, he had yet another change of heart and ran as a Republican.

Now, of course, the Mayor wants to vote for term limits. This is significant because it affirms his clear belief he, and he alone, should be able to change rules--which only apply to him if and when they serve his purposes. After all, NYC voters twice affirmed term limits. Only someone with as much money as he has ought to be able to weasel around that:

George Orwell put it well in his sardonic book, “Animal Farm.” He wrote:

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

And now Mayor Michael Bloomberg has shown us that Orwell wasn’t far off the mark. In 2009, Bloomberg, through his superiority in power and money, strong-armed the City Council to pass a law overturning the ban on more than two terms as mayor. Now, the Mayor has reversed himself. He will vote for a two-term limit for everyone else — even as he continues in his third term.

He has affirmed that, in the political jungle of New York, he is the one animal more equal than others.

Quite true, and the mayor doesn't even bother hiding it. Three for me, and two for everyone else. Of course, in three years that could change. The third term, this time, was an emergency. Bloomberg said only his economic expertise could help us sail through these rocky waters. Of course, that wasn't the real emergency.

To Michael Bloomberg, an emergency entails Michael Bloomberg not getting what Michael Bloomberg wants. Don't rule out another emergency in 2013. And be wary if the UFT says 2013 will be better. Bloomberg could buy another term for himself, or hand-pick someone even worse.

Or maybe a teacher-friendly Democrat will get in. I've been waiting for that to happen since 1984.

Top Secret Correspondence

Quoteworthy

At this point, the only reason left to support this President, is that he reflects your hateful heart; he shares your contempt of people of color, your hostility toward outsiders, your toxic misogyny, your ignorant bigotry, your feeling of supremacy.

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Views expressed herein are solely those of the author or authors, and do not reflect views of my employers, the United Federation of Teachers, or any UFT union caucus.

Stories herein containing unnamed or invented characters are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.